CAMDEN, N.J. — Federal prosecutors are laying out their case to jurors that a group of Philadelphia and southern New Jersey mobsters pulled off a white-collar financial fraud.

The trial of Nicodemo Scarfo and six other defendants started Wednesday in Camden, N.J. Prosecutors say the defendants used threats to take over a publicly traded mortgage company and then kept the firm's assets for themselves.

In his opening statement, assistant U.S. Attorney Howard Wiener told federal jurors that it's a case about "lying, cheating and stealing."

Scarfo is the son of imprisoned Philadelphia crime boss Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo.

Other defendants include a reputed mob associate and two lawyers and two men who were executives at FirstPlus Financial Group, the Irving, Texas-based mortgage company.